The Ghost of Red River Falls

For more information on the characters in this story, please read the following:

What Mother-In-Law Wants
Badge of Betrayal
Clarissa Gets Served
Grab Life by the Balls

*****

The Ghost of Red River Falls

A Sheriff Pat Quinn Spin-off Story

In hindsight, it should have been my first and biggest clue. By the end of the weekend, she had more pictures taken of her with them than she did anybody else, including me. And definitely way more photos were taken of them than were taken of her, me and my own parents.

But of all the photos that were taken it was the ones taken of her and them while she was holding a photo of him that probably bothered me the most.

You probably have absolutely no clue who I am talking about. When I mention she or her I am talking about my lovely bride, Wendy. When I mention them, I am talking about her previous in-laws, Ed and Joanne Parmelly. And when I mention him, I am talking about my new bride's first husband, Kevin. And the pictures I am speaking of were all taken on what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, my and Wendy's wedding day.

Kevin and Wendy were the typical high school sweethearts who stayed together through college at Bemidji State University and eventually married. They had what most people would call a storybook and idyllic marriage, sharing a love that grew deeper and more intense daily. They were the absolute envy of everyone they knew and had the type of relationship that the Hallmark Channel absolutely would drool over the movie rights for.

Kevin was truly the epitome of the All-American boy. He had excelled at everything he had chosen to do. He was the quintessential four-star athlete in high school and was captain of every team he participated in - football, ice hockey, track and baseball. Kevin was a big fish in a little pond while in high school in Red River Falls but also excelled when playing hockey at Bemidji State. He was one of the most feared forwards ever to play for the Beavers.

If Kevin was the All-American boy, Wendy was equally the All-American girl. She was athletic just like Kevin and shunned cheerleading for a position as a goaltender on the Bemidji State women's hockey team. In fact, she set a school record her senior season for fewest goals allowed and helped the team get to the Women's Frozen Four, where they were eventually defeated by Boston College. The standing joke amongst Bemidji State students was that the only person who could score with Wendy Davis was Kevin Parmelly!

Kevin graduated with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and returned to Red River Falls to take a position as a personal banker and financial planner with Wells Fargo.

Wendy received a degree from Bemidji State in Modern Languages with an emphasis in Spanish. She taught Spanish full-time to freshmen and sophomores at Red River Falls Community College and also taught English as a Second Language courses to Red River Falls' growing Hispanic community.

Both Wendy and Kevin were extremely well-liked and adored as a couple, the absolute envy of everyone they knew. Life had absolutely nothing but the most amazing adventures and experiences in store for those two. You just knew it.

But fate can be cruel, as we all know. Wendy and Kevin had been married for a little over two years when Kevin began experiencing a number of health problems. It started as a series of colds and other infections that took him a ridiculously long time and copious amounts of various medications to get rid of. Sooner, rather than later, another cold or flu bug would hit and would put Kevin down for the count even longer than the previous illness.

No one could understand how a man in excellent health and physical condition like Kevin could suddenly seem so vulnerable to illness. Finally, his physician ordered Kevin to be hospitalized and they ran a battery of tests to try and come up with the answers. Physical appearance-wise, Kevin looked almost the same. He hadn't really lost much weight or muscle mass; he just couldn't seem to stay well.

Finally, the doctors at Holy Family Medical Center discovered the horrifying answer to what was causing his illnesses - cancer. And not just any cancer but pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer can often have the extremely cruel effect of giving a person the appearance of being in good health while making them extremely miserable and sick at the same time. Basically, you can actually look pretty good even though you are dying. Pancreatic cancer has a mortality rate of nearly 95% within five years. By the time a person even begins showing symptoms, the cancer is often already at an advanced stage and has begun to actively spread to the rest of the body.

A PET scan soon revealed the worst - Kevin had cancerous spots on his brain, his lungs, his liver, his spine and his kidneys. All of this had been discovered even before Kevin had a chance to start his first round of chemotherapy.

The doctors at Holy Family Medical Center in Red River Falls immediately shipped Kevin off to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The disease was halted briefly and Kevin actually seemed to make some progress. But hope turned to despair once again after Kevin finished his last round of chemotherapy. A new PET scan revealed signs of cancer in his lymph nodes and bone marrow. Despite the best care possible, Kevin's health continued to deteriorate.

He died three days before their third wedding anniversary.

To say that Wendy was devastated would be a gross understatement. The disappearance of the dreams and aspirations that she and Kevin shared was equal to the pain that most people endure with the loss of a child. Wendy stated eloquently that when she saw Kevin in his casket for the final time, she saw not just Kevin but also the souls of generations of people who will never exist because Kevin is no longer here. She thought of the children and grandchildren they would never have and those thoughts multiplied the pain and anguish she was feeling exponentially.

It took her a good six months before she felt good enough to return to work and it was another six months before she even seemed to resemble the person she was when Kevin was still living. Copious amounts of counseling and grief therapy had helped her get through the worst of it but she still cried herself to sleep, clutching a picture of Kevin in her arms nearly every night.

Ed and Joanne Parmelly were equally devastated by the loss of their oldest son. Despite the fact that the Parmellys were blessed with four other amazing children - Greg, Bobby, Melinda and Nate - they could not seem to get over the death of their favorite son.

As a result, Ed and Joanne continued to dote love and affection on Wendy. They invited her to every family gathering and treated her as the guest of honor. Ed Parmelly did everything he could to try and keep Kevin's spirit alive in their family. Kevin was all that Ed ever talked about - his sports achievements, the life he would have had with Wendy, what an amazing businessman Kevin was turning out to be before he died.

People began to suspect that the rest of the Parmelly's children couldn't help but resent the fact that their parents, especially Ed, still spent so much time romanticizing the life of Kevin while seemingly ignoring their own. So great was the depth of their pain, I surmised, that they were unable to experience the joy and gifts they had with their other four children.

Greg and Bobby were only a year apart in age and seemed like the best of friends. I could only assume they found in the brotherhood they shared that which they were missing in the form of attention they should have received from their parents. But they, too, idolized their older brother and often shared in building upon the image everyone had of Kevin. Even in death, Kevin seemed to have grown bigger in stature than he held in life.

Melinda, their only daughter, was nothing less than a beauty queen. Whereas Kevin, Greg and Bobby were all stereotypical athletes, Melinda was something of a diva. Almost a tragic beauty in some way, she had a slightly dignified air about her that was almost reminiscent of the poise expected of Miss America or Miss Universe.

The youngest son, Nate, was what I call an urban cowboy. He loved his Western style of clothing with western cut flannel shirts, overly tight-fitting Wrangler jeans, and was never seen without his favorite pair of well-worn Justin boots. He also had a black Stetson that he wore often. He was the furthest thing from a cowboy in occupation, however. He actually had a job as the auditorium and stage manager for Red River Falls Community College. I would have never thought you could get a full-time gig for something like that but Nate had. Moreover, Nate also had a degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in theater from Macalester College in the Twin Cities.

No, it never occurred to me to pay attention to some of the signs on the day of my wedding that I now look back and see as such ominous portents of the hell my life would become. While it may not be physically possible to be cuckolded by a dead man, what I would ultimately experience would be a close second.

My name is Jack Fitzgerald. I was a Lieutenant with the Red River Falls Fire Department when I married Wendy Parmelly. I had wanted to be a firefighter ever since I was in kindergarten and our class got to take a tour of the fire station for Fire Prevention Week. I was totally hooked.

I graduated from Red River Falls High School about seven years before Wendy and Kevin. My post-high school pursuits led me to St. Cloud State University where I pursued a degree in Public Safety Administration with a double major in Fire Science. I also took the training for and became certified as a Nationally Registered EMT-Paramedic. As soon as I graduated from St. Cloud State, I took the written test and physical agility test with the Red River Falls Fire Department and successfully passed both. I was number one on the list of qualified candidates and was offered a position as a Probationary Firefighter when the next opening became available.

Red River Falls Community College recently started offering classes for students who wished to pursue an Associate's Degree in Fire Science. I, along with several other fire instructors from RRFFD, served as the faculty for the program. I was the lead instructor for the Fire Science 215 class, International Building and Fire Codes. It was while teaching that class that I met Wendy Parmelly.

I was absolutely awestruck when I met her. I couldn't get over her amazing flame-red hair, her penetrating aquamarine eyes, and the millions of freckles that seemed to dot her face and arms. I'm a total sucker for girls with freckles. Wendy didn't seem to smile much. But when she did, it was a million dollar smile. She was tall, around 5'9", and had a very trim and athletic body.

I was extremely hesitant about asking her for a date. An English instructor at RRFCC had clued me into Wendy's past and what had happened to her husband. The thought of what she had to endure with being a widow at such a young age was painful, even for me. I saw her nearly every day at the college. One particular day she and I actually made eye contact and I simply offered her a smile and a wave. To my joy, she returned both.

No words were spoken between us that day but I was literally on cloud nine for days afterwards. Suddenly, Wendy consumed my thoughts and I couldn't get her out of my head. We passed each other coming and going often at the college and for weeks all we did was trade smiles and waves from a distance.

Knowing what I knew about her past, though, I definitely couldn't take a fast approach or the direct approach. I knew that I would get shot down immediately.

Luckily, I didn't have to. I didn't generally eat at the college cafeteria but one particular day I was pressed for time. Often times the class I was teaching at the college fell on days I was scheduled to work my regular shift at the fire department. So on those days, I was under the gun to teach and get my butt back to work.

To my astonishment, Wendy herself made the first move and sat down across from me while I was munching on a pork tenderloin.

She reached across the table and offered her hand. "Hi, I'm Wendy Parmelly." I gingerly reached out and returned the handshake. "I see you in passing all the time but we've never had a chance to formally meet."

I tried to be as mannerly as I could because she caught me with a mouthful of food just as she sat down.

"I'm Jack Fitzgerald," I said as soon as I had swallowed. It was a wonder I hadn't choked.

We exchanged pleasantries and polite conversation while we both finished our lunch. I was so enamored with her that before I even knew what hit me, almost two hours had passed and I was extremely late in getting back to the fire station to finish my shift.

I knew my captain was going to be extremely pissed at my tardiness but I totally didn't care as Wendy and I had exchanged phone numbers and promises to meet up for coffee in the near future. It was definitely worth the ass chewing!

We took it very, very slow. Almost all of our dates at the beginning were during the daytime and were usually to public places - the mall, our one and only museum, various restaurants for lunches, lots of bike rides and trail hikes, and movie matinees. Wendy was very forthcoming when talking about Kevin and, oftentimes, I would let her cry out her frustrations at having the life she dreamed of with Kevin taken from her.

We had been doing our version of casual dating nearly four months before Wendy eventually let me kiss her good night after an evening with dinner and a movie. I walked her up to the front of the small bungalow that she and Kevin bought as their starter home, held her hands in mine, and leaned in for a gentle but heartfelt good night kiss.

I promised myself that I wouldn't even begin to think about having a sexual relationship with Wendy until she was good and ready and resigned myself, with no hesitation, that I would wait until we were married, if I was fortunate enough to get to that point.

Wendy and I had been dating for nearly a year before either of us brought up the topic of getting married. I started the conversation by simply asking if she saw herself getting married again and moving on. She said yes. Much to my surprise, she furthered the conversation by stating that she thought she could see herself with me in her future, too.

Needless to say, my heart exploded with joy at hearing those words. From that moment on, our relationship began to deepen. She would still talk about Kevin a lot and her previous life with him. But instead of the conversation turning into an emotional maelstrom, she seemed like she was to the point where she could think of him and smile while knowing that she was still a young and vibrant woman with a future ahead of her.

We continued dating for another six months before I felt that I was comfortable enough to pop the question. At that point, it was three-and-a-half years after Kevin's passing. I asked her to marry me at one of our favorite parks overlooking the Red River Valley.

Wendy said 'yes' immediately and I was immensely happy. But shortly after agreeing to marry me, Wendy had a couple of requests. First, she wanted me to formally ask her father Mike for her hand in marriage. And, second, she asked me to please speak with Kevin's parents, Ed and Joanne, for their blessing as well.

Asking Mike Hasseman, Wendy's father, for permission to marry his daughter was a piece of cake. I had really hit it off with Wendy's parents, Mike and Christie, when I had first met them. But I had definitely NOT hit it off when I met Ed and Joanne for the first time. Or any other time after that, for that matter.

To say that they were cool and icy to me would be like saying the North Pole has a slight chill in the air. It was clear that they saw me as an interloper and potentially the man who would erase the life Wendy and Kevin had shared. That was certainly not my intention in any way, shape or form. I did my best to ingratiate myself to them but all I can say is that they were cordial, and reluctantly so, at best. They did little to get to know me at the various social functions we went to, either at Mike and Christie's house, or at the Parmelly's, to which Wendy was always invited.

I seemed to get along okay with Greg, Bobby and Melinda. Nate, the youngest of the Parmelly clan, was the most difficult to read. He always looked at me with some kind of goofy smirk, like he was in on a joke that everyone else was telling behind my back. I couldn't help but sense that Ed and Joann Parmelly hoped that somehow Nate would come in and sweep Wendy off her feet and restore her place in the Parmelly family.

When I showed up that fateful night at the Parmelly house to ask for their blessing for Wendy and me, Ed Parmelly looked as though someone had just shot him in the stomach. Neither Ed nor Joanne said a word at first, just stunned silence. Ed rose slowly from his chair, went upstairs and went to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Joanne tried to compose herself and simply said, "It's nothing against you, Jack. You seem like an awfully nice man. We just want what's best for Wendy, that's all."

I had absolutely ZERO idea of how to take her response. When I saw Wendy the next day, she asked me how it went. I struggled with what to say to her, so I just said, "Ed and Joanne want you to be happy." It wasn't exactly a lie but Wendy was ecstatic.

All of that led to our big wedding day, the day that should have been the happiest of my life. We followed tradition and didn't have the pictures taken until after the wedding was over and before the reception.

I should have known something was up from all of the pictures Wendy had taken of herself with Ed and Joanne. Add to that the fact that Ed was also in a tuxedo, almost like he was the father of the bride. The weird part was that Mike and Christie Hasseman, her parents, didn't seem to mind in the least.

I quickly began to feel like the third wheel at my own wedding. I got the first dance with Wendy, which was amazing. I felt like our bodies could melt into each other and, for a few brief moments, it felt like we were alone in a universe of two.

Soon, the father-bride/mother-son dance came along and Wendy danced with Mike while I shared a dance with my wonderful mother, Sandra. My father, Jim, watched from his seat and beamed with pride. He would share the next dance with Wendy.

But I couldn't believe it when the next dance was announced that it would be a very special dance shared only by Wendy and Ed Parmelly. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed that I was stuck watching my new bride dance with the father of her deceased first husband. I also felt like an asshole for feeling that way. Ed and Wendy were obviously having an intimate conversation while dancing and they both had tears in their eyes.

Over the next three hours, I got to dance with my new bride twice and was cut in both times by none other than Ed Parmelly. The only reason I even let him was because I was too big of a puss to make a scene at my own wedding.

Finally, the reception and dance came to an end and Wendy and I were able to retreat from the banquet room to our private suite for the night. I was nervous as hell knowing that we were about to finally consummate our marriage and love for one another. It would be the chance to finally put all of the frustrations of the wedding and reception behind us and truly express our love for one another.